CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A Southeast Texas man who bragged online about sexually assaulting minors was sentenced Jan. 15 to 30 years in prison for producing child sexual abuse materials following an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Houston’s Corpus Christi office and the Duval County Sheriff’s Office.
Oscar Luis Saenz Jr., a 32-year-old resident of Duvall County, Texas, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to 30 years in federal prison for the production of child pornography and was further ordered to register as a sex offender and to pay $15,000 in restitution to a known victim. Saenz will serve the rest of his life on supervised release following completion of his prison term. During that time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. Saenz pleaded guilty to the charges Sept. 26, 2024.
“The victims of child exploitation are left forever physically, mentally, and emotionally scarred, haunted for the rest of their lives by the unspeakable horrors they were subjected to,” said HSI Houston Special Agent in Charge Chad Plantz. “For this predator to not only go online and brag about his heinous actions, but to then distribute recordings of that abuse to the web causes the minor that he sexually assaulted to be revictimized and is unconscionable. Thanks to the tireless efforts by our special agents in Corpus Christi and the officers with the Duval County Sheriff’s Office, he has been removed from the community and will spend the next three decades behind bars.”
Authorities launched their investigation after discovering that Saenz was participating in chat rooms involving discussions of child sexual assault material. During one of his online conversations, Saenz claimed he had recently sexually abused a child. On Aug. 28, 2023, Saenz sent a video of himself sexually assaulting a young child. Law enforcement quickly acted and arrested him the same day.
After his arrest, Saenz admitted that he had produced the video of himself sexually abusing the young child. Law enforcement seized his phone and discovered approximately 100 files of child sexual abuse materials on the device.
In arriving at the sentence, the court noted the egregiousness of the offense and the age and profound impact that Saenz’ conduct had on the victim.
Saenz will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Overman prosecuted the case.
For more news and information on HSI’s efforts to investigate child exploitation in Southeast Texas follow us on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @HSIHouston.